Wednesday Rambling

* It seems that rambling is all I can manage lately. I have all kinds of philosophical or educational posts in my head, but by the time I actually have the time to sit at the computer, all coherent thoughts have flown the coop. So I ramble.

* I was sick this past weekend. I am so rarely sick that I am taken by surprise when I am sick. I become morbid, thinking, "What if I were always like this?" I dislike being unproductive. On the other hand, being sick allowed me the luxury of getting back into my reading groove. I've read four books in the past week. Now if only I could get motivated to review them.

* Last week we finally finished Caddie Woodlawn, which I dearly love. Today we watched the WonderWorks version of the movie, which was so terribly different from the book. The kids thought that they would have liked the movie had they not read the book, but we all agreed that the girl who played Caddie was so far from our imagination that she almost ruined the movie. But I always enjoy the discussions that come from book vs. movie episodes, and this time Laurel took 4 pages of notes in preparation for writing a compare/contrast essay.

* I am so very tired of grown-ups behaving badly. I am heart weary. I remember once when Laurel was little, she said, "I want to be bad!" I feel that way today. I want to be bad and tell the truth about one man's actions, tell anyone and everyone exactly what he did. And so I breathe deeply and pray for the wisdom to know when to speak and when to keep silent. A friend of mine posted this quote on Facebook today: "To work in the world lovingly means that we are defining what we will be for, rather than reacting to what we are against" (Christina Baldwin, American spiritual writer). I really like that, and it was a good reminder to me not to react at all to the opposition, but rather to stand firm and remain confident and filled with integrity. (But still sometimes I just want to be bad.)

* I have a confession to make: we bought new living room furniture this weekend. We've been married 20 years, and this is the first actual living room suite we've purchased. We've always had hand-me-downs and mismatched pieces. I'm pretty excited. Our furniture was not only falling apart, but really smelly. Our kids are past the really really messy stages, so I'm feeling good about this. Now I just need to get that fireplace mantel painted before the furniture arrives in 2 weeks. And because you were wondering, the couch and loveseat are brown, and the chair is red.

* I love having my parents here. I'm really not used to having them here yet, just a minute down the street. Last night they came for supper and a game of cards. The rest of the week is a little crazy for us, but I hope to have supper with them at least twice each week. What a joy to get to spend so much time with them.

* Tomorrow we begin our seventh year of American Heritage Girls! It seems like ages ago that we started our troop here with 35 girls, and now we average about 75 girls each year. I feel strangely prepared for tomorrow. I even cleaned out my AHG bag and printed out everything I think I need to print out. I'm looking forward to seeing all those sweet girls' faces.